This semester in EDC 102, we learned a lot about Evernote, which is a way to keep organized - there’s an app or it’s online. This was an efficient way for us to keep track of our readings and summaries, and it helped us keep our thoughts organized. I had never used anything like this before, and at first I thought that Evernote would make my life so much easier, but I couldn’t get into it like I was hoping I would.
The reason why I couldn’t get into it was simply because I didn’t put enough time and effort into it, and the reason why I didn’t put a lot of time into it was because I didn’t understand it. I tried to watch videos and be a 21st century learner, but, unfortunately, it never clicked for me. In high school, whenever I had to do research for a project I would just bookmark each website. Then once I realized that wasn’t the most efficient way, I added bookmark folders designated to the topic I’m researching which made things easier for me to find. Evernote is essentially that. I do think that Evernote has a lot of benefits, and I did use it for my reading summaries and I also used it for research. My favorite part about Evernote was the Evernote Web Clipper, and I used that a lot. Instead of bookmarking websites for projects, I now make a notebook for whatever project I’m working on and then clip the websites and put them in the folder. Besides that, I did not use Evernote as much as I anticipated. Instead of Evernote, I like to make lists and handwrite things opposed to typing them because it’s easier for me to comprehend whatever it is I’m working on.
My most consistent challenge in my learning this semester was adjusting to college courses. I thought that the courses I took this year were about the same difficulty level as the courses I took in high school. Surprisingly, I wish they were more challenging because I was trying so hard to change my mindset from a strategic learner to a deep learner. I went into college thinking that my classes were going to be so much harder than high school, and that I was going to have to study like crazy for tests. My most difficult class was my Biology class. I studied for at least a couple hours every nigh for a week prior to our first exam. I did everything I was told to do: start studying at least a week in advance, go over every little thing, and expect the unexpected. When the time came for me to take my first ever college exam, my professor basically copied and pasted the practice exam and changed a few words around. I’ve received high grades on these exams because all I have to do is memorize the practice exam and I’m all set. To give you a better idea, the last exam I took for that class took my 10 minutes. Since my professor used the practice exam verbatim for the actual exam, I fell back into my old habits of just doing enough to get by. Unfortunately, the successful learning strategy for this class was being a strategic learner. This makes me more nervous for next semester because I know that not all of my professors will be so generous, or lazy.
I think that viewing my notes as a lasting resource will definitely affect how I participate in future courses. As I said before, I did not use Evernote very often and I mainly used the Web Clipper. I used the Web Clipper to organize articles and resources for any projects I had. I think that being able to see these notebooks I’ve created of my resources will help me deepen my learning. I can create notebooks for all my interests and future courses, and I think that being able to look back on these notebooks will help me better my learning.
I think that Evernote is the perfect example of how technology is becoming very prevalent in the classroom. Since technology is growing so rapidly, these sort of programs can seem overwhelming at first, at least I was, and still am, overwhelmed by Evernote. Despite being overwhelming at first, Evernote proves that technology is a useful tool when it comes to teaching, learning, and education as a whole. I believe that programs such as Evernote will set the tone for future online programs and the classroom. It is a very easy and efficient tool, and while it didn’t work for me, it does work for others. I have noticed that when it works for a person then they really enjoy it and their learning improves because of it.
The reason why I couldn’t get into it was simply because I didn’t put enough time and effort into it, and the reason why I didn’t put a lot of time into it was because I didn’t understand it. I tried to watch videos and be a 21st century learner, but, unfortunately, it never clicked for me. In high school, whenever I had to do research for a project I would just bookmark each website. Then once I realized that wasn’t the most efficient way, I added bookmark folders designated to the topic I’m researching which made things easier for me to find. Evernote is essentially that. I do think that Evernote has a lot of benefits, and I did use it for my reading summaries and I also used it for research. My favorite part about Evernote was the Evernote Web Clipper, and I used that a lot. Instead of bookmarking websites for projects, I now make a notebook for whatever project I’m working on and then clip the websites and put them in the folder. Besides that, I did not use Evernote as much as I anticipated. Instead of Evernote, I like to make lists and handwrite things opposed to typing them because it’s easier for me to comprehend whatever it is I’m working on.
My most consistent challenge in my learning this semester was adjusting to college courses. I thought that the courses I took this year were about the same difficulty level as the courses I took in high school. Surprisingly, I wish they were more challenging because I was trying so hard to change my mindset from a strategic learner to a deep learner. I went into college thinking that my classes were going to be so much harder than high school, and that I was going to have to study like crazy for tests. My most difficult class was my Biology class. I studied for at least a couple hours every nigh for a week prior to our first exam. I did everything I was told to do: start studying at least a week in advance, go over every little thing, and expect the unexpected. When the time came for me to take my first ever college exam, my professor basically copied and pasted the practice exam and changed a few words around. I’ve received high grades on these exams because all I have to do is memorize the practice exam and I’m all set. To give you a better idea, the last exam I took for that class took my 10 minutes. Since my professor used the practice exam verbatim for the actual exam, I fell back into my old habits of just doing enough to get by. Unfortunately, the successful learning strategy for this class was being a strategic learner. This makes me more nervous for next semester because I know that not all of my professors will be so generous, or lazy.
I think that viewing my notes as a lasting resource will definitely affect how I participate in future courses. As I said before, I did not use Evernote very often and I mainly used the Web Clipper. I used the Web Clipper to organize articles and resources for any projects I had. I think that being able to see these notebooks I’ve created of my resources will help me deepen my learning. I can create notebooks for all my interests and future courses, and I think that being able to look back on these notebooks will help me better my learning.
I think that Evernote is the perfect example of how technology is becoming very prevalent in the classroom. Since technology is growing so rapidly, these sort of programs can seem overwhelming at first, at least I was, and still am, overwhelmed by Evernote. Despite being overwhelming at first, Evernote proves that technology is a useful tool when it comes to teaching, learning, and education as a whole. I believe that programs such as Evernote will set the tone for future online programs and the classroom. It is a very easy and efficient tool, and while it didn’t work for me, it does work for others. I have noticed that when it works for a person then they really enjoy it and their learning improves because of it.